Search under way for new permanent tip deal in north Dudley
Dudley Council is looking for a deal that could bring a permanent tip back to the north of the borough.
The council has already approved spending for pop-up household waste disposal facilities in the region but the authority’s leader confirmed he is looking for a long-term solution.
The pop up tip plan attracted criticism from Dudley MP Sonia Kumar who claims a monthly service meant residents only had limited access to waste disposal services.
Ms Kumar said: “Let’s be clear: people in Sedgley, Coseley and Gornal get 12 days of waste services a year, while residents elsewhere in the borough have access to a permanent facility. That simply isn’t fair.”
Dudley Council leader, Cllr Patrick Harley dismissed the MP’s comments saying pop-up tips are popular with her constituents.
Cllr Harley said: “The MP is deluded and needs a reality check. We have put a considerable investment to provide pop-up tips for the north of the borough.
“Ms Kumar is also wrong to claim residents in the north only have 12 opportunities a year to dispose of waste. They can, if they want to, have access to Stourbridge just like anyone else.”
The Labour MP also attacked the Conservative-run council’s ‘long-running failure to provide fair waste services for residents in the north of the borough’ and went on to insist Dudley’s failures ‘led to the closure of the Anchor Lane Household Waste Recycling Centre’.
Ms Kumar said: “What’s even more frustrating is that the pop-ups cost around £120,000 a year — only slightly less than the increase that would have kept Anchor Lane open in the first place.
“Residents deserve honesty about how this situation happened, and they deserve a proper solution — not a temporary workaround that has dragged on for years.”
The Anchor Lane centre is operated by City of Wolverhampton Council.
Dudley Council previously paid a fee to its neighbouring authority to allow its residents, particularly in Coseley, to take their rubbish to Anchor Lane.
The deal collapsed in April 2021 after Dudley refused to pay increased fees, which it claimed were up to 65 percent more, but the site remains open to Wolverhampton residents.
Meanwhile, Cllr Harley says the search is on for a permanent solution and did not rule out going back to Anchor Lane.
He said: “I can inform residents that we continue to pursue a longer-term deal that includes a permanent site.
“Those talks will include either operating our own site within the north of the borough or agreeing an arrangement with neighbouring authorities.”
